Another World
by GrrrlOnFire
Summary: Katniss and Peeta visit the Capitol's library, and Katniss finds herself fascinated by one book, and one character in particular. Just a little oneshot idea I had.


Tomorrow, I'll be entering an arena for the second time. Where I would fight for my life for the second time. And, inevitably, either I, Peeta, or the both of us, will die.

I've sworn to myself I'll to anything I can to protect him. It will be him going home, not me. But in the arena there's only so much I can do.

I haven't seen Peeta all morning, actually. It's 10am and he hasn't shown up for training yet. While we were all training, he was off somewhere in the Capitol, maybe schmoozing with potential sponsors or greeting fans, I have no idea. Nevertheless, I'm angry at him. Our last day of training before we go back in to the arena, and he's off socializing. I roll my eyes.

"Looking for your fiancé?"

Haymitch, drunk as usual.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Peeta. Any idea where he is?"

"The Capitol Museum, educating himself on the glorious history of the Pre-Panem days." He slurs, drinking an odd lucking black liquid.

"I didn't know there was one." I didn't, but then again, exploring the Capitol has never been my idea of a good time, the two times in my life I've been here. In fact, I wasn't even sure we were allowed to go wandering off.

Turns out we are, as long as we're accompanied by an escort or someone else. Effie agrees to go with me, infact, she seems rather enthusiastic about me learning the history of the country. Little does she know I couldn't care less, and I'm only going to find Peeta and bring him back here so we can get in one last day of training before we're thrown in to what will probably a worse arena than the last one.

We get there. The entrance to the Museum is a huge glass room, interactive maps with directions and special lectures on in the place. It must be bigger than I thought. It may be judgemental, but I thought people in the Capitol were more interested in the next banquet than history.

"Katniss! Girl on fire!" a high pitched voice calls.

I should have expected this. Soon I'm surrounded by these brightly coloured large birds, and Effie smiles politely and tells them I'm here on official business and that I might speak to fans later. I hope I don't have to. I have an interview tonight.

A receptionist tells us Peeta is in the library. There's a library in this place?

I'd never seen many books before in my life, other than my mother's medical books and the like. This room with thousands of them is strange. I think of how many words, how many trees, make up these shelves. I see books everywhere. Books bound with darkly coloured leather. New books. Old books. Old and dull books that doesn't exactly scream 'Capitol'. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued. I wasn't the best at reading in school, I didn't really have time for academics, so I doubt I'd be able to read most of them anyway. But I know Peeta was one of the smartest boys in District 12, so it doesn't surprise me that he'd be here.

Peeta sits with some Capitol official who he seems to have charmed, because the scarlett-haired young man keeps bringing stacks and stacks of books over for him to have a look at. "You can take as many of these as you like! I've asked. Borrowing isn't usually available to tributes but they're willing to make an exception for you and Katniss- Oh!" he spots me and smiles, "There she is now!"

I walk over to Peeta. "Katniss!" says the red-haired man, "I was just explaining to Peeta how you can borrow these. I know you won't be able to read anything in one night but if either of you win, you can take them home!"

I force a smile and stand before Peeta, who seems to be engrossed in some ancient hardback that looks like it was from at least three hundred years ago. The spine reads 'A Song Of Ice And Fire: A Game Of Thrones'.

"Oh, hey," he smiles, "I've been reading this all morning since I got here at 4am. I couldn't sleep. Mika said it was good. It's a fantasy novel. And there's this girl who reminds me of y-"

"Peeta! Why are you sitting reading some old novel when you could be training? Do you want to die?"

The young man who I know know as Mika seems to feel awkward so he walks away to speak to Effie, giving me and Peeta some time alone.

Peeta frowns. "Because I know I'm gonna die, Katniss. It's gonna be you, and I just wanted to spend what may be my last day alive doing something I'd enjoy, okay?"

I'm not in the mood to argue about this. I'm tired, drained emotionally and physically, and I collapse in to a chair beside him. "Whatever."

We sit in silence for a few minutes, before I feel curios about this book that has occupied by district partners time for six hours.

"So, a fantasy novel?"

When I was a young child, my father used to tell me fantasy stories, of made up worlds with made up beings, fairies and goblins and ghouls. I used to find it fascinating, now I think it's sort of silly. This is the real world, and no amount of escapism is going to change that.

"Yeah. I've almost finished now. There's this character, Day-ner something, I can't pronounce her name. But she reminds me of you. So does this other character, Arya."

Peeta tells me the basic storyline of the book, of a fictional land, power-hungry maniacs, and strong heroines, like Arya and Daenerys, whose name Mika tells us the correct pronunciation of. I have to admit, Westeros doesn't sound all that different from Panem.

We sit in silence while Peeta finishes the novel. "Six hours well spent, but we should probably get back to the training center now."

"Is there a sequel?" I ask Mika.

"Yes!" He runs off to get it.

Peeta sighs. "It's a shame I'll never get to read it."

I want to tell him he'll live, that I'll get him through this, but part of me knows the odds of either one of us getting out of the 75th Hunger Games arena are slim. We are competing against twenty two previous victors. I say nothing.

"Let's stay here for longer, and then get back for lunch," I say. I know it's probably not the wisest idea, but I don't want to leave this place. I want to read some of this book. I want to know more about Daenerys, Arya and Jon Snow. I want to lose myself in a world that's almost as messed up as my own. I turn to Peeta. "Tell me about Daenerys."

Daenerys Targaryen. Sent to marry a man she'd never met for her abusive brothers gain when she was younger than I am. Because the beloved queen of a people she knew nothing about. She is the last dragon. I've heard stories about dragons before, large, fire breathing bird-like beasts. She hatches dragon eggs and earns the title Mother Of Dragons. Mika tells us that in the next books, she frees slaves and fights for the innocent.

"Kind of like you, Katniss," Peeta whispers.

I haven't freed anyone. I have done what I had to do to stay alive and there is nothing admirable about me, but I like this Daenerys. I wish I could read the whole book. I wish I could read all of the books in the series. I want to know how she uses her dragons to free the slaves, I want to know about her fight to take back what was rightfully hers.

Not long after, we leave the library and the museum. Soon enough, I'm sitting with Cinna, waiting for my prep team to get here so we can start getting ready for the interviews.

I think back to over a year ago, when Cinna told Peeta and I he was going to set us on fire. That's how I got the nickname Girl On Fire. I almost smiled to myself.

Fire cannot kill a dragon.


End file.
